View source for Slenthem

{{Short description|Indonesian musical instrument used in Gamelan}}
{{Infobox instrument
|name= Slenthem
|names=
|image= COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Metallofoon bestaande uit zeven toetsen en een onderstel onderdeel van gamelan Slendro TMnr 500-1.jpg
|classification=
*[[Percussion instrument]]
*[[Idiophone]]
|developed= [[Indonesia]]
|range=
|related= 
|musicians=
|articles=
}}
The '''slenthem''' (also '''slentem''' or '''gender panembung''') is an [[Music of Indonesia|Indonesian]] [[metallophone]] which makes up part of a  [[Java]]nese [[gamelan]] orchestra.
The slenthem is part of the [[gendér]] family.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Hood
  | first = Mantle
  | last2 = Maceda
  | first2 = José
  | title = Music
  | publisher = Brill Archive
  | year = 1972
  | isbn= 978-90-04-03402-0
  }}</ref> It consists of a set of bronze keys comprising a single octave:  there are six keys when playing the [[slendro]] scale and seven when playing the [[pelog]].  These keys are suspended by leather cords over individual bamboo tube resonators in a wooden frame, which are cut so that the placement of the bamboo's node causes the functional length of the resonator to be shorter for higher notes.  The instrument is played by striking the keys with a mallet, called a ''tabuh'', which has a short handle and a thin wooden disk edged in cloth or rubber.  One hand is left free to dampen notes.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Gaetano Jr.
  | first = Mario A. 
  | title = Definite pitched idiophones of the Javanese gamelan
  | journal = Percussionist
  | volume = 15
  | issue = 3
  | pages = 121–143
  |date=Spring–Summer 1978
  | url = http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~stocktoj/Moravian/Gamelan33.pdf
  }}</ref>  It is a low-pitched instrument<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Benamou
  | first = Marc
  | last2 = Supanggah
  | first2 = Rahayu
  | title = Indonesia, Central Java: Solonese Gamelan: A Garland of Moods
  | publisher = Maison des Cultures du Monde
  | year = 2006
  | url = http://mcm.bois.free.fr/booklet260125.pdf
  }}</ref> with a softer sound than the saron demung.<ref>{{Citation
 |last        = Dean
 |first       = Deirdre
 |title       = The classroom gamelan
 |journal     = Counterpoint
 |pages       = 31–37
 |date        = July 1996
 |url         = http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/counterpoint/articles/dean396.pdf
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20050615002951/http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/counterpoint/articles/dean396.pdf
 |archive-date = June 15, 2005
}}</ref>

Like the saron barung and demung, it generally plays the most basic form of the melody ([[balungan]]) in a composition.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Kartomi
  | first = Margaret J.
  | title = On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments
  | publisher = University of Chicago Press
  | year = 1990
  | pages = 101, 104
  | isbn = 978-0-226-42549-8}}</ref>  However it also sometimes uses techniques similar to the [[saron (instrument)|saron]] to elaborate. It is especially favored in quieter gamelan ensembles (such as [[Gamelan Gadhon]]); but it is a part of standard [[Gamelan Gedhé]] as the only soft-style instrument also played in loud-style pieces.

It is typically placed among the instruments at the front of the performing area.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Kartomi
  | first = Margaret J.
  | title = On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments
  | publisher = University of Chicago Press
  | year = 1990
  | pages = 89
  | isbn = 978-0-226-42549-8}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Music|Indonesia}}
* [[Gamelan]]
* [[Kenong]]
* [[Saron (instrument)|Saron]]
* [[Bonang]]
* [[Gong]]
* [[Music of Java]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.seasite.niu.edu/indonesian/Budaya_Bangsa/Gamelan/Javanese_Gamelan/metallophones/slentem.htm NIU page on the slentem]

{{Gamelan}}
{{Indonesian musical instruments}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Balungan instruments]]
[[Category:Keyboard percussion instruments]]
[[Category:Gamelan instruments]]
[[Category:Indonesian musical instruments]]